waterparkin' it.

so there is an awesome waterpark about 45 minutes away and we went for the first time yesterday after the kids napped. i was a genius and forgot my swim suit in waco so we stopped at the 'department store' in town for me to get one. considering there were no matching tops and bottoms and i am not quite bikini ready, i found and bought one within the 15 minutes i was allotted. not bad! here are a few pics. we had a blast and are planning to go back one more time before we leave.

keeping it real

just thought i would share how we typically look around here, especially when it is 112 degrees outside, which is what it reached yesterday out here in the hills of oklahoma.

i just love this cute little hiney.  don't you wish it was socially appropriate for you to just wear this all the time during the summer?

and this is how we swim out here. 

i am diggin brenner's farmers tan, let me tell ya.

scoobs is thinking about diving in too.

hair yesterday, gone today.

my sweet, beautiful daughters are going through an awkward hair phase. 

when they were born, they had a pretty good amount of hair that evenly covered their head and was dark and so pretty!

now, not so much. 

elise lost a bunch of her hair a couple of months ago but clara still had lots of dark hair on top until about 3 weeks ago.  

now she is molting everywhere. 

poor baby.

but daddy still loves his little clara no matter how her hair looks.  

things just got a little better.

well, as promised, we are never without excitement around here.  especially when we are in oklahoma trying to relax.   the water pump to the water well broke leaving us without water for 24 hours.  that was fun with 3 children and 3 dogs. not to mention the stinky husband who was forced to go into town to shower at a friends house. but things are fixed now, praise Jesus!

i also had a filling pop out while i was flossing.  not a good thing when your dentist is a long way away.  so now i am trying to eat only on the left side of my mouth and ignore the big hole in my molar on the right side. 

also lots of fun.

and on a much brighter note, the long awaited, much anticipated sonic is almost open here in little ole' shattuck oklahoma. this little town of 1500, which is the largest it has been in a long time, has always been home to the pizza hut. about 5 years ago a subway was put into the local grocery store which was awesome. but sonic? we thought the rumors would never come true. and yet, here we are, mere days from its opening.

we are so excited.  

and with heat like this, we need all the limeades and vanilla dr. peppers we can get.

early morning.

the girls were up a little earlier than normal this morning so after i fed them, i grabbed my camera and went for an early morning walk and watched the sun come up. the good thing about oklahoma in the summer is that the temperature in the mornings and evenings drop below the death zone, unlike in waco. this morning it was 70 degrees when I was out.  it felt amazing compared to the ridiculous heat that awaited us later in the day.

here are the photos i took with my camera.

what an awesome way, and view, to start the day.

speaking of sleep.

since i talked with you yesterday about sleep, i thought i would share with you today this picture of why, yes, it is probably time to put them into their own beds. 

i found them like this during their nap, with elise happily using her sister's head as a foot rest. 

they crack me up.

(by the way, check out those awesome hairlines)

REM...how i have missed you.

there were a lot of nights during the girls' 3rd month that were long nights. after sleeping soundly in between feedings for over a month prior to that, something changed and their routine was interrupted.  i actually think that it was several things back to back, such as gas (no onions, broccoli, or apples for me right now), a growth spurt and then a little cold.  

one of the girls would wake up like every hour.  sometimes multiple time per hour.  sometimes is was elise.  sometimes it was clara beth.  usually putting the paci back in would do the trick....only to have it fall back out 2 minutes later.  

i had some long nights, friends. 

but when we went for their 4 month check up, the doctor suggested that it was time for them to have separate beds.  my initial thought was, no, that is not going to help.

so that night, we put up the second crib.  

could we possibly have any more furniture in this room?

changing table, 2 cribs, 2 swings, nightstand, full sofa, and a rocker (i know you can't see half of this.  hhmmm, did i ever put up pictures of their room?  i don't think i did.  for another post then.)

anyways, the girls did great sleeping separately.  i thought they may sleep worse apart but they did not and i was shocked at how much sleep we all got.  

i am making my pediatrician a cake when i get home.

fast forward 3 nights when we arrive in oklahoma. 

i forgot to bring the 2nd pack n play.  

why can't things ever go right???

we literally pulled up to our house here and i remembered 8 things that i needed to bring but i forgot.  like a baby bath tub, cole's potty, and another pack n play.  

good one mom. 

so, with the girls back to sleeping in the same bed, i was all prepared for the worst.  i was prepared to be up the usual 25-30 times (i kid you not that was becoming normal) to put the pacifier back in.

3 nights in, the girls have done great.  maybe it is the cooler nights or the oklahoma wind lulling them to sleep or they missed each other so much the 3 nights before that they were apart that they have made a pact to be quiet and co-sleep together in peace without kicking each other in the head.  

i don't know.

but we seemed to have turned a corner.  not only are they feeding at 9:30 and not again until 6, but we are all getting some good REM cycle sleep.  

REM.  i missed those letters.  

and i am not talking about shiny happy people.

sleeping beauties.  

i don't know why, but i can never have too many pictures of my babies sleeping. 

hello ok.

we have arrived in oklahoma and we are so happy to be here. the drive went about as well as it could have with 3 kids and after 11 hours, we arrived.

i sat in the backseat with these two lovelies.  most of the trip they were happy playing with their feet or they were sleeping.

but there were a few moments where they looked like this. 

this look indicated that a pit stop was necessary.  

i had to feed the girls 3 times on trip.  

(in our denali, we have taken the bucket seat behind the driver out so that there is a big space to climb in to put the girls in the back.  it was basically the only way that we could configure it so that everyone was accessible.) 

 so i got to sit on the floor in that open space with my big ole' nursing pillow and feed the girls. 

 that was fun, let me tell ya. 

here we are driving down to our house.  it is there amidst all those trees down yonder. 

it was a glorious sight after 11 hours.

so we are country bumkins for the next of weeks and i will keep you posted of all of our exciting adventures, as there are sure to be some.  

on the road.

we are on the road to oklahoma today to spend couple of weeks relaxing with the family. so far it has been a.... let's just say not so relaxing morning getting out of the house. and i am writing this in the car using the blogger app so if this looks different or screwed up, that's why. we have been on the road 3 1/2 hours and have made it 100 miles. this does not bode well for the rest of the trip. but such is life when someone has to pee every 30 minutes and 2 others are very demanding about their feeding schedule. if you think about us, say a little prayer, that over the next 8-10 hours that it will take us to get there that we will still love each other, mmkay?
I leave you with a picture of my previous clara. love this little one.

what's cooking.

for some reason, i have been wanting to cook a lot recently. 

 why i am getting to urge to cook all the time now that i have 3 kids is beyond me. maybe it has something to do with the fact that i frequently watch cooking shows while i am feeding the girls or during nap time and my inner giada is just dying to get out. 

 but since we don't really eat out much these days, for numerous reasons, it has been a good excuse to try new, easy recipes. 

 one of my new favorites, of course, is a dessert. 

 i got some blackberries at the farmers market last weekend so i made this blackberry cobbler when we had friends over for dinner.  

to say that it was good is an understatement. can you tell?

4 people did this damage.

and let's be honest, that little piece looked so lonely and pathetic that i may have just helped it feel less lonely after this picture was taken.

Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler  recipe is wonderful and we are going to try it next week with peaches instead of blackberries!

chicken pesto pasta  is another new favorite that i have already made twice.  i made it with whole wheat pasta, since that is the only kind of pasta we eat and with rotisserie chicken since i like the flavor and wanted a mix of white and dark meat.  it is so good!

 i also got green beans at the farmers market and happen to find giada's green bean pasta recipe the next day.  of course i tweaked it, as i almost always do, and added shrimp and capers to it.  and some parmesan cheese.  next time i think it will need a little more seasoning, but overall it was good too.

and for father's day i made one of brenner's favorite, chocolate covered strawberries.  

yum.

i will keep up updated on any new yummy recipes that i make.  

we love our family dinners around here, and it is a nightly tradition that we are committed to keeping no matter how busy our schedule gets in the future.  i have so many memories of family dinners growing up, all through high school, and i am so glad that was a priority in my house.  i hope to continue that for my kids.  

what??

my crazy children.

clara, sleeping comfortably.

elise sleeping even more comfortably.

cole sucking on his toes.  seriously.

hubs in the spotlight.

here is my handsome hubby.  

today, i am doing a shout out to this guy.

not just because it is father's day, but because he deserves it. 

brenner and i got married when we were just babies.  seriously.  we were so young and it is crazy now to look back and think about who we were back then.  

we had no idea who we were to be honest.  

and the past decade has been an incredible time of growth and change for each of us.  

but i think that brenner has changed more.  in a good way.  in many good ways.  

don't get me wrong, he was great when i met him, and seemed kind of like a superman then with his lofty ambitions, strong work ethic and dashing good looks.  

and those things have not changed.  he still has so many plans, goals and ambitions and is always thinking of what is next.  he also still works hard and has accomplished so much in his businesses.  

and he still has his dashing good looks.  (why is it that a few wrinkles make men look rugged and more handsome and just make us ladies just look old and tired?  it's an injustice, i tell ya.)

but he has become so much more.  

his heart is so different than it was a decade ago.  he has become such a servant and has embraced his role as the head of our marriage and the head of our house.  

he has become the spiritual leader and not only has that transformed our marriage, it has transformed him.  he is softer, kinder, and more thoughtful.  he makes sacrifices for his family, both big and small.  

he has been determined for me to stay home with the kids, since he knows that is where my heart is, no matter what he has to give up.  

he takes turns with the girls during the night so that i can get some sleep.  he works out of the house so he will come in and help throughout the day if i need it or just because he wants to.  he helps with the dishes, laundry and bedtime routines every time i ask, and often even when i don't.  and every time i ask him, 'do you want to change a diaper?' he answers, 'i would love to'.  seriously.  

he runs his own business, manages houses and projects for 3 other people, is a chaplain in the air force, started an orphanage in zimbabwe africa which he still helps run, is a private pilot, and a sunday school teacher.  

and he is a great dad.  

i am constantly amazed at what he does.  i sometimes don't know where he finds the time considering that amidst all of the above activities, he carves out quality play time with his kids every. single. day. 

and he likes to make me pancakes and omelets in the morning to boot.

  

God has required a lot of him over the years, and required him to let go of a lot of things that he thought were important.  not only has he obeyed God's calling in his life in every way, he has done so with peace and joy and trust in God's great plan, not his plan.  

what a leader and role model for me and our kids. 

i am beyond proud of what he does and who he has become. 

happy father's day, hubs.  

i love ya!

4 months.

yesterday the girls turned 4 months old.  wow.

the girls did really well during our little photo shoot even though they have colds right now.  

here are some of the out-takes. 

clara doing her best 'lazy fat man' impersonation.

 a classic elise smile.  love.

mom, big sister needs your help.

 here she goes again, crowin' my space!

 holding hands.  they do this a lot.  every time they eat, they hold hands the whole time (i feed them both at once).  it is so sweet.  they will even hold hands sometimes in bed when they are not sleeping all burrito style.  

here, they were starting to join forces against mom and her camera. 

and the photo session ended soon after due to their efforts.  

hello sister.

so tired.

sometimes you are so tired you just have to take a nap.

popsicles.

last summer my mom gave us some popsicle molds that we finally pulled out last week. we made strawberry banana yogurt pops and they were delish!

(and by the way, i have recently embraced the app pic collage so be aware of the increased number of picture collages! i am addicted!)

my weekend.

here is our weekend summed up.

-our tree in the backyard died and brenner and his brother have spent numerous hours cutting it down.

-my running buddy, jake. we had a good run yesterday but he kinda drives me crazy at the same time. i.e. pooping in the middle of the street. soooo sorry austin avenue residents.

-cole and i made popsicles and enjoyed eating them!

-elise and clara decked out in their baylor gear cheering on the baylor baseball team to the college world series!

-and brenner with clara at the game. it was hot. 98 degrees to be exact and i'm not talking about the band, if you can even call them that.  but we cheered for our bears amidst the sweating, 13 potty trips, snack eating, water spilling, chair jumping, baby passing craziness.  the people around me called us brave for taking all 3 kids. we called it something else and it starts with stu- and ends with -pid.  you decide.

patience...and other fruit.

so the Lord has really been testing me in the area of patience.  i mean, he gave me 3 kids so patience is something that definitely comes in handy to keep myself sane.  i am constantly trying to be aware of my tone and to be softer, gentler, and more patient in my everyday drama. and that is a challenge.  
the Lord has convicted me to be more aware of my anger and personal annoyance and to Get. Over. It.  
i have a little one, soon to be 3 little ones, who are modeling my behavior and watching me react.  when i lose it, i am teaching cole it is ok for him to lose it. when i "toss" something too hard, i am teaching cole that it is okay to do it too.  when i am rude to my husband or rude to the cashier, cole sees me. one night we were at the dinner table and cole leaned over his highchair and yelled "get out of the way people!" with his mean face and then burst out laughing. brenner looked at me and i said, yep, he got that from me in the car today. proud mommy moment right there. 
 i have been convicted and starting this week, i am choosing to exhibit more fruit in my life.  starting with an area that every mom i know struggles with, patience.

but i am also talking about more than just patience when i am annoyed or upset that one is crying while the phone is ringing while dinner is cooking while the dog is barking and someone is pooping. i.e. last night.  i am talking about a patience with life that i think ties deeply with true peace from God.  i need to be patient in the plan God has for me. sometimes i have to remind myself that God knows what is happening in my life, that he chose this life for me.   he was not surprised when we found out about the twins or when i got engaged at 19 years old.  he was not surprised when the economy tanked and with it brenner's business. 
 over the last year, my trust in God is stronger than ever before. and the peace in my heart is like i have never felt. God has given me peace about his plan for our lives and as a result i need to be patient while waiting on the next step of the plan.  i need to be patient in waiting for our house to sell (yes, it is on the market again!).  i need to be patient in waiting for the Lord to bring brenner his next project. 
i have NO doubt that God is going to take care of us.   i just need to fight the desire to want it, and demand it, right now.  i will choose to trust him everyday.  i will choose to show my children the peace in my heart through my patience in the day to day and in the bigger things of life.

in light of all this i have decided to do some fruit of the spirit activities with cole this summer.  i want to start teaching him now what joy, peace, patience, goodness all means.  and come on, what better time to talk about gentleness when there are 2 newborns in the house!  each week we are going to "study" a fruit and try to implement what we learn.  i want to be a better role model for my kids and i want to be more like my role model, Jesus.  i think this is a great place to start.

new kicks.

i have recently acquired 3 new pairs of shoes. 

hhmmmmmm.......i love shoes. 

i had to go and get a new pair of toms.  i have holes in both of my other pairs, not that they have stopped me from wearing them, but they won't last much longer so when i found these beauties, i knew i had to get them. 

my brother had given me the best christmas present a girl could ask for, a gift card to nordstrom, and i used it to by these.

thanks bro.  my feet look happy, don't they?

i have also desperately been in need of new running shoes.

i am running about 4 miles each weekday and a longer run of 6 or 7 miles on saturdays.  

i needed some new kicks to keep up with me!  

i love these!  they just look fast!

and then i went ahead and got one more pair of running shoes.  i needed them, they were on sale, and i am addicted to sneakers.  all these things added up to a second pair.  

love. new. shoes.